PSA: what happens when you haul unsecured items

[vraiblonde]

This was sent by a friend, posted at her request:

This is what happens when you don’t tie things down. A metal box spring flew off of someone’s truck and hit my daughter’s windshield today, Sunday 17 July. Luckily she and her passenger weren’t hurt, but she could have lost control and caused more damage to herself or others. This happened around 12:40pm today on Rt 5 and Willows Road. The driver of the truck kept going whether he knew this happened or not. The box spring shattered her windshield and put a hole in the roof, causing glass to fly into the car. We are now burden with replacing the windshield and repairing the roof of her car.

Please Share to get the word out – “Make sure you are tying things down before you hurt someone”.




I had another friend years ago who was driving on the beltway behind a pickup hauling drywall. The bindings were loose and a sheet of the drywall came through his windshield and almost killed him. He was critical for a long time, and rehabbed for over a year. Since then, I make it a point to not drive behind anyone hauling open items. OBTW, the driver was charged and spent some time in jail for his negligence, then there was the civil suit...

So PSA, make sure your load is secure, then check it again. Someone smarter than me can go over the specifics, but what I do know is that you might think your load is secure, but add speed and wind velocity, a few bumps in the road, and it's not really.

 

[MADPEBS1]

wow, glad all were safe, yes that could of caused a much worse incident.

 

[getbent]

Glad it was only the car damaged. She didn't remember anything about the vehicle hauling the load?

 

[Clem72]

About 25 years ago I was following behind a truck that started dropping bales of hay all over the road. I ran my Blazer smack into one around 50mph and it disintegrated. When I pulled over to check the damage the only thing I could find was the mess I left in my pants.

 

[vraiblonde]

I should ask what kind of car that is - that windshield held up like a boss.

 

[SquirrelBait]

Where can I pick up my Box Spring at?

 

[glhs837]

So PSA, make sure your load is secure, then check it again. Someone smarter than me can go over the specifics, but what I do know is that you might think your load is secure, but add speed and wind velocity, a few bumps in the road, and it's not really.

Not smarter, but do know more about tying stuff down most likely. I see poor tiedowns all the time. Drives me crazy. Some people don't even attempt it, and there's no point even speaking to them. "Gravity, works fine, never fails......"

The key thing is, in addition to accounting for wind like you said, is to restrict motion in ALL directions. If you allow the load to shift in any direction, it will and most likely get out from under whatever tiedown you did use. My personal goal is that a giant should be able to pick up the hauling vehicle and shake it upside down. Ratchet straps are dirt cheap and secure a load better than most folks outside Eagle Scouts can with rope. Over the top, around both back and front is the minimum.

If you must use rope, then make sure to hit a hard point, loop around it, then come back to one of your other sections rope with it and tie off to that, allows you to not only secure it, but lets you pull extra tension taking more slack out of the rope.

Bungees do have a place in tiedown but not much of one. It's elastic, so if wind will be bearing on the item, no damn bungees. Great for keeping lightweight things in place, but not for securing the load against wind loads.

CHECK YOUR LOAD!!!! Drive a few minutes up to your expected travel speed, then pull into a parking lot and go back to the bed/trailer and give all your line/straps and cargo a hefty tug. Re-tie/strap as needed.

 

[Das_Igelchen]

Where can I pick up my Box Spring at?

As of this morning it's still lying on the side of route 5 just north of Willows Road.

 

[Chris0nllyn]

My dad was hit on his motorcycle by a trailer that broke loose because the person didn't secure the safety chains.

I dodged a ladder that flew off the roof of a work van that wasn't tied down.


My wife always asks why I secure the #### out of anything and everything I haul. Situations like these are why.

 

[Goldenhawk]

Ironically enough, the only time I've personally seen anything fly off a vehicle: we were on the freeway at high speeds when the windshield of a Jeep ahead of us flew off. Went 20 feet up and then slammed down between us and the jeep. No damage or injury. Good thing it went up and over the driver's head...

 

[Goldenhawk]

My dad was hit on his motorcycle by a trailer that broke loose because the person didn't secure the safety chains.

I dodged a ladder that flew off the roof of a work van that wasn't tied down.

My wife always asks why I secure the #### out of anything and everything I haul. Situations like these are why.

And yet we continue to see clowns driving down the road with a mattress on top, held in place by exactly one human forearm. Brains were not distributed evenly, it would seem.

 

[glhs837]

This was sent by a friend, posted at her request:

This is what happens when you don’t tie things down. A metal box spring flew off of someone’s truck and hit my daughter’s windshield today, Sunday 17 July. Luckily she and her passenger weren’t hurt, but she could have lost control and caused more damage to herself or others. This happened around 12:40pm today on Rt 5 and Willows Road. The driver of the truck kept going whether he knew this happened or not. The box spring shattered her windshield and put a hole in the roof, causing glass to fly into the car. We are now burden with replacing the windshield and repairing the roof of her car.

Please Share to get the word out – “Make sure you are tying things down before you hurt someone”.

View attachment 113955
View attachment 113956

I had another friend years ago who was driving on the beltway behind a pickup hauling drywall. The bindings were loose and a sheet of the drywall came through his windshield and almost killed him. He was critical for a long time, and rehabbed for over a year. Since then, I make it a point to not drive behind anyone hauling open items. OBTW, the driver was charged and spent some time in jail for his negligence, then there was the civil suit...

So PSA, make sure your load is secure, then check it again. Someone smarter than me can go over the specifics, but what I do know is that you might think your load is secure, but add speed and wind velocity, a few bumps in the road, and it's not really.

BTW, permission granted to steal this for a FB PSA? Un attributed other than "someone local to my area" of course.

 

[Vince]

A few years ago I had a very large bolt (construction type) fly off a truck in front of me. Hit the hood, windshield, etc.

 

[getbent]

My dad was hit on his motorcycle by a trailer that broke loose because the person didn't secure the safety chains.

I dodged a ladder that flew off the roof of a work van that wasn't tied down.


My wife always asks why I secure the #### out of anything and everything I haul. Situations like these are why.

 

[getbent]

My biggest fear is one of those trucks hauling logs looses one and it comes right through my windshield. I try to go around anyone hauling anything as quickly as possible.

 

[lucky_bee]

My biggest fear is one of those trucks hauling logs looses one and it comes right through my windshield. I try to go around anyone hauling anything as quickly as possible.

I watched this happen once while driving somewhere in the Virginia Beach area when I was young. Thankfully we were in some stop-and-go traffic on a highway and it all happened in slow motion. A chain broke loose and one by one, logs started rolling off in all directions. Don't know how but no cars were hit.

 

[bilbur]

I learned the hard way to double check the load in the back of my truck. I always put a bungee over anything in the back of my truck but that doesn't secure everything. I take my parents trash to the dump every other week and usually they are good about tying the bags but for some reason they didn't put a tight not in two of the bags that day. I threw them into the back of my truck, put a bungee over them and went on my marry way. It wasn't until I pulled onto 235 from 245 that I noticed papers and other lite material pouring out the back. It took me 45 minutes to an hour to pick up as much as I could. After that day I always check the bags to make sure they have been tied.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

My biggest fear is one of those trucks hauling logs looses one and it comes right through my windshield. I try to go around anyone hauling anything as quickly as possible.

Not quite as bad but I was passing a truck hauling construction lumber on the interstate. I was going up a big hill so I decided to pass the truck, right as I was beside the trailer its tie down strap extra that is usually wrapped up and shoved into a hole started flopping around and got under the trucks tire. The truck pulled its own tie down strap to the point it broke and a load of construction lumber started falling off the side of the truck towards my car. Luckily I got over and hit the gas to get past the falling lumber, surprisingly my underwear were clean.

The only thing I ever hit was an extension ladder that fell off a work van in front of me on I-95 near Baltimore, driver did not speak English and tried to take off until I snapped a picture of the work van.

 

[vraiblonde]

BTW, permission granted to steal this for a FB PSA? Un attributed other than "someone local to my area" of course.

I'm sure it would be fine.

 

[glhs837]

Bungees do have a place in tiedown but not much of one. It's elastic, so if wind will be bearing on the item, no damn bungees. Great for keeping lightweight things in place, but not for securing the load against wind loads.

.

I learned the hard way to double check the load in the back of my truck. I always put a bungee over anything in the back of my truck but that doesn't secure everything. I take my parents trash to the dump every other week and usually they are good about tying the bags but for some reason they didn't put a tight not in two of the bags that day. I threw them into the back of my truck, put a bungee over them and went on my marry way. It wasn't until I pulled onto 235 from 245 that I noticed papers and other lite material pouring out the back. It took me 45 minutes to an hour to pick up as much as I could. After that day I always check the bags to make sure they have been tied.

Yep, I dont trust bungees to much for external loads.